Enid Blyton

MR. PINK-WHISTLE'S 
PARTY

by

ENID BLYTON

Illustrated by

DOROTHY M. WHEELER

LONDON

GEORGE NEWNES LIMITED

TOWER HOUSE, SOUTHAMPTON STREET

STRAND, W.C.2

From NoOne@Home's scan

I. MR. PINK-WHISTLE'S PARTY

II. MR. PINK-WHISTLE AT WORK AGAIN

III. MR. PINK-WHISTLE HAS SOME FUN !

IV. MR. PINK-WHISTLE COMES ALONG

V. MR. PINK-WHISTLE LAUGHS !

VI. MR. PINK-WHISTLE HAS A PEEP

VII. MR. PINK-WHISTLE'S LITTLE TRICK

VIII. MR. PINK-WHISTLE GETS A LETTER

IX. WELL DONE, MR. PINK-WHISTLE !

X. MR. PINK-WHISTLE AND THE SCRIBBLER

XI. MR. PINK-WHISTLE'S CAT is BUSY

MR. PINK-WHISTLE'S PARTY

YOU remember Mr. Pink- Whistle, don't you — the little man with pointed ears who goes about the world putting wrong things right? He is half a brownie, and can make himself invisible if he wants to.

Mr. Pink- Whistle often passed a little house called Merry-Chimneys. He liked that name — and he liked the little girl who lived there.

She always seemed to be swinging on her garden gate when he passed. She smiled at him and waved cheerily. One day he stopped and spoke to her.

"What's your name? It ought to be Smiley because you're always smiling!"

The little girl laughed. "Well, my name is
almost
as good as that,"

she said. "It's Merry."

"Ah — Merry by name and merry by nature," said Mr. Pink-Whistle.

"Very nice. But do tell me — why are you so often out here swinging on your gate?"

"Oh, don't you know?" said the little girl. "It's because there's a 'PLEASE CROSS HERE' sign."

Mr. Pink- Whistle looked surprised. He had certainly seen the

"PLEASE CROSS HERE" sign, and had noticed the thick white lines painted across the road, just opposite the little girl's house. But what had that got to do with swinging on a gate?

"You look puzzled!" said Merry. "I'll explain. Well, my mother says everyone ought to do something to help other people, and if we can't see something we've got to look for it. Mother said I'd got something right at the front gate — helping people over the busy crossing. Cars are supposed to stop, but they don't always."

"Show me what you do," said Mr. Pink- Whistle.

"Well, look — there's a Toddlers' Home three doors away," said Merry. "And I'm waiting for the nurses to come out with the children, so that I can help them across the road.

MERRY STOPPED THE CAR AND TOOK THE CHILD ACROSS THE ROAD.

They have to wheel prams with four or five babies in them, so they can't very well look after the children who are walking, too. Here they come. Now watch."

Merry skipped down from the gate and went to meet two nurses and a crowd of tiny children walking hand-in-hand in twos. They were chattering like sparrows. The nurses had an enormous pram each. One pram had four children, one had five. What a weight!

"Hallo, Merry. There's Merry! Merry, take my hand!" called the tiny children. The nurses nodded and smiled at the little girl, and went across the crossing with their prams. Merry carefully took every small child across herself, even holding up her hand to stop a car that was coming along.

When they had all gone over safely she skipped back to Mr. Pink-Whistle. "There you are," she said. "It's only a very little job, but it's a help, isn't it?"

"It certainly is," said Mr. Pink-Whistle. "You did that well. Are you going in now you've done your job?"

"I've just got to wait for old Mr. Lame and poor Mrs. Limp," said Merry. "They come along about this time and somebody just has to help them across. They go so slowly, you see, and they are frightened of the cars. Here's Mr. Lame."

Pink-Whistle watched Merry guide the lame old fellow across the road.

She chattered away to him, keeping a sharp eye out all the time for traffic. As soon as she got back to Pink-Whistle along came Mrs. Limp. One of her legs was much shorter than the other, and she
really
couldn't hurry.

Merry took the limping woman safely across and carried her basket.

Then she ran back again.

"Now I'm going in," she said.'"I always know the time to come and swing on my gate and wait for all these people. Sometimes I come out just in
case
there might be somebody else afraid to cross—when I have a minute to spare. I suppose you wouldn't like me to help you across, would you ? "

"I don't have to cross just here," said Pink-Whistle. "But thank you all the same. I'm glad to know you, Merry. There aren't many people like you in the world."

The next time Mr. Pink-Whistle passed by Merry's house, she waved to him again. "Mr. Pink-Whistle!" she called. "Aren't I lucky! I'm going to a big party to-morrow, and I've got a new blue dress and blue shoes to match."

"How lovely!" said Pink-Whistle. "Well, you deserve a party, Merry."

"There's going to be an enormous cake with candles," said Merry. "And a Punch and Judy Show—fancy that! And each child is to have two balloons and a present. Aren't I
lucky!"

"I'll come by to-morrow morning at this time and you can show me your blue shoes," said Mr. Pink-Whistle. "You get them out ready for me to see."

But when he came the next day, there was no Merry swinging on the gate. He couldn't see her at all, not even at one of the windows. What could have happened?

"Perhaps she has gone shopping," thought Pink-Whistle, and he waited a few minutes for her to come back. But she didn't. So Pink-Whistle walked up to the front door and rang the bell. A maid answered the door and Pink-Whistle asked for Merry.

"She's out in the back garden, sir," said the little maid. "Would you like to go and find her?"

So out into the garden went Pink-Whistle and looked all round. There was a big lawn first, then an orchard, and then a kitchen garden. He couldn't see Merry anywhere. He walked down puzzled.

No one was on the lawn. No one was in the orchard. Was anyone in the kitchen garden? No, there was nobody there, either.

There was a little garden shed nearby, and Mr. Pink-Whistle thought he heard a noise coming from it—just a little noise. He went up and peeped in.

Yes. Merry was there—but what a different Merry! No smiles now, no merry laughter. She sat huddled up in a corner on an old sack, crying all by herself.

"What's the matter?" said Pink-Whistle, walking in and sitting down beside her.

"Oh dear—you made me jump!" said Merry, wiping her eyes and giving him a very watery smile. "Fancy your coming and finding me here!"

"Why aren't you out swinging on your gate as usual?" asked Pink-Whistle.

"I'm not allowed to for three whole weeks," said Merry dismally.

"You see, I had a little friend to tea yesterday—and this morning her mother came to tell my mother that she's got measles. So I'm not allowed to swing on the front gate, or talk to any other children for three weeks, in case I get it too, and give it to someone else."

"That's very bad luck," said Pink-Whistle. "Very bad luck indeed.

What about that party you were telling me of?"

"Well, of course, I can't possibly go to that," said Merry, beginning to cry again. "I'm sorry I'm so silly about it, but I just can't help feeling awfully disappointed. About my blue shoes and blue dress, you know—

and not seeing the Punch and Judy Show. After all, I haven't been naughty or anything, have I? It isn't my fault."

"It isn't—and you don't deserve such a disappointment," said Pink-Whistle, comfortingly. "But it just so happens that
Tm
giving a Punch and Judy party this afternoon, and
Tm
going to have an enormous cake with candles on, and there'll be balloons too—so you'll be able to come to that!"

Merry looked at him in astonishment. "Are you
really
giving a party like that?" she said. "But—I still won't be able to come, because I mustn't mix with other people."

"Oh, that's all right," said Pink-Whistle, cheerfully. "My guests can't get measles, so you can mix with them all you like. Shall we have the party down here in the orchard?"

"Could
we? Because I'm not allowed to go anywhere by bus or train," said Merry, her eyes beginning to shine. "But why can't your guests get measles? I thought anybody could get them."

"Not
my
guests," said Pink-Whistle, getting up. "Well, put on your blue shoes and your blue dress this afternoon and be here at three o'clock.

Don't forget."

He went off, leaving the little girl in such a state of excitement that she danced round every tree in the orchard. What a funny, wonderful little man Mr. Pink-Whistle is!

At three o'clock, dressed in her blue shoes and blue frock, with a blue ribbon in her hair, Merry ran down to the orchard. Good gracious me!

What had happened to it!

Every tree was hung with streamers and shining ornaments. Great big toadstools had sprung up from the grass for tables and seats. Twelve had grown close together to make an extra big table for the guests to sit at.

The guests were coming from every direction. But they weren't children. Oh no—Mr., Pink-Whistle had chosen his other kind of friends—

the pixies and elves and brownies. There they came, trooping along, all dressed in their best, too!

Mr. Pink-Whistle was welcoming them all, smiling even more broadly than usual. He saw Merry and went up to her. "You look lovely in your blue shoes and blue dress," he said. "I'm so glad you could come to my party. Now let me tell you who's here. This is Tiptoe—and this is Jinky—and this is Silky—and this is Jolly—and this is Heyho—dear me, I hope you'll remember all their names!"

Merry liked all the little people at once. She played games with them, ate the ice-creams that kept appearing on the little mushroom tables, and drank glasses of honey-lemonade. Lovely!

The tea was simply glorious. Merry counted twelve different kinds of most extraordinary sandwiches, and twelve different kinds of cakes. There were wobbly jellies and fruit salads with ice-cream on top. And oh, the cake, the cake that stood in the middle of the big table!

It shone and glittered with a hundred coloured candles, and it was decorated with silver and gold balls, pink, yellow and white icing, and all kinds of sugared flowers that could be eaten.

"See what's written on the top, Merry," said Pink-Whistle. Merry looked and went red with pleasure.

"WELCOME TO MERRY!" was written in pink icing.

"Yes, it's
your
cake," said Pink-Whistle. "Made specially for you.

Now—what about cutting it?"

After tea there was a Punch and Judy Show. It was much better than any show Merry had ever seen, and she laughed so much that she got a stitch.

Everyone had two balloons. "They won't burst," said Pink-Whistle.

"They've got just a touch of magic in them. They'll last for years."

It was the loveliest party Merry had ever been to. At the end every guest had a present in a little shiny box. They all lined up and went to Pink-Whistle one by one.